U.S. airports fear rising turmoil as personnel work without pay

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 3:20 PM PT Sat. Jan. 12, 2018

Airports across the country begin feeling the effects of the partial shutdown.

On Saturday, Miami’s International Airport closes one of it’s terminals due to security screeners calling in sick at twice the airport’s normal rate.

An airport spokesman said Terminal G would close at 1 p.m. local time, and will reopen for flights Sunday morning, and then close again that afternoon.

A Transportation Security Administration officer works at the entrance to Concourse G at Miami International Airport, Friday, Jan. 11, 2019, in Miami. The airport is closing Terminal G this weekend as the federal government shutdown stretches toward a fourth week because security screeners have been calling in sick at twice the airport’s normal rate. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Reports said Terminal G is currently closed, and will reopen for flights Sunday morning, before closing again that afternoon.

Reports said Terminal G is the slowest running concourse, making up 3% of the daily flights.

Nationwide, there are about 51,000 airport security agents who have been working without pay since the shutdown started December 22nd.

This week, air traffic controllers protested, calling for an end to the shutdown.

“As this continues to go on the layers of safety are being reduced into our airspace system for no reason whatsoever,” said Paul Rinaldi, The President of National Air Traffic Control Association. “We don’t want to be in this tug of war. We want to run the safest system in the world – end the shutdown, end shutdown.”

On Friday, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association filed a lawsuit against the government, saying the shutdown has devastated the lives of workers, and impacted the safety of passengers.